Marketing a small business has never been easier, but with so many options, it can be easy to get overwhelmed with marketing. Marketing is simply communicating value to your potential customers. You must learn to get your customers’ attention and lead them to the decision of doing business with you, buying your products, or using your services.

Oftentimes, you’ll create a marketing plan that includes a mix of strategies, tactics, and channels. So we’ve compiled a simple list of small business marketing ideas to get you started and get your wheels churning. I highly suggest you print this post out and keep it visible in your office so you can always refer back to the list.

Online Marketing Ideas for Small Business

1. Make sure your website is optimized for conversion by adding your contact information on every page.
2. Advertise on Google using Google Ads.
3. Set up your Google My Business profile.
4. Create and optimize your Yelp account.
5. Upload photos to your Yelp and Google My Business account.
6. Get reviews from customers on Yelp and Google My Business. This will help your local SEO and help customers find you if they search for businesses like yours in your area.
7. Optimize your Facebook business page and include contact information, address, phone number, services you offer, and a brief description about your business.

   

8. Run a Facebook Ads campaign.
9. Advertise on Bing: Though Google is the king of online advertising, a lot of Microsoft users still use Bing as the main search engine since it’s the default on their computers and they never change it.
10. Create blogs (like this one!) that are helpful for your customers.
11. Optimize your website for search with search engine optimization (SEO).
12. Set up Google Search Console to know what keywords your business is ranking for and install Google Analytics to track how your website is performing and what people are doing on your website.
13. Hire a digital marketing agency to help with your online marketing.
14. Send out weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly email newsletters to your customers using tools like Mailchimp or Aweber.
15. Set up an auto-responder email sequence.
16. Create a social media marketing plan and create content consistently. Here’s a deep dive post on how to do that.
17. Hire a social media manager.
18. Create monthly educational webinars.
19. Enlist social media influencers to promote your business.
20. Create videos for your business Youtube channel.
21. Start a podcast.
22. Advertise on a podcast.
23. Get a new website design! If you haven’t updated your website in 3+ years, it’s time for an overhaul or at least a major makeover. Technology changes very fast and you don’t want your business to seem outdated or your customers will go to your competition.

Offline Marketing Ideas for Small Business

1. Get a booth at trade shows and conferences where your customers attend.
2. Network with other entrepreneurs and business owners (they can give you other strategies and often become great referral partners). You can join a local Chamber of Commerce, a BNI group, or checkout Meetup.com for other events.
3. Create a live event for your customers: Customer appreciation parties, trainings, or other in-person events are a great way to get your business talked about and create raving fans from your customers.
4. Launch a direct mail campaign to new customers and past customers to get them to come back.
5. Create a referral program.
6. Send articles and press releases to local newspapers, blogs and publications.
7. Apply for awards and contests. The recognition will make you stand out from your competition and be far more remarkable. Plus it’s a nice confidence booster to have others recognize your hard work.
8. Go door to door to local businesses and introduce yourself.
9. Cold call and cold email. As icky as that sounds, it works! Not a lot of people have the will, courage, and time to do it so make the extra effort and build connections. The goal is to get other people to know your business exists!
10. Speak at events, meetups and conferences where your potential clients may be.
11. Send thank you cards to your customers and vendors.
12. Create a continuity program where they pay you monthly for a service they need.
13. Continue marketing to your existing customers! If they bought from you once, they’ll often buy again, buy new stuff, or buy more of the same.
14. Market to your referral partners. They often are a bigger source of leads and can help sustain your business without advertising.

Creating a Marketing Plan

1. Set a budget for marketing and commit to it every month.
2. Plan your annual promotions and your holiday promotions at the beginning of the year.
3. Create your small business marketing plan. Here’s a cool tool to get your marketing plan built in 1 page.

What marketing ideas work for you?

We’d love to hear from you in the comments below! Also, make sure to bookmark this post because we’ll be updating it often with more small business marketing ideas.

If you’re interested in working with us, let’s chat! Shoot us a message here.

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• The Power of Strong Branding for Small Businesses
• 3 Simple Ways to Promote Your Business on Google